This amicus brief in AM v Holmes asks the Supreme Court to hear a case on behalf of a student who was charged with a crime for burping loudly in class. While we know little of the reasons behind the student’s behavior, advocates across the country from well respected children’s right organizations argue that the precedent established by this 10th Circuit decision upholding the criminal charge, could result in criminalizing behavior that includes: “boredom or insecurity due to a lack of understanding of the material being taught, to hunger, stress, disability, health issues, or unaddressed trauma” The brief states that the decision to charge the student with a crime, “permits the criminalization of commonplace behavior of schoolchildren in conflict with obvious, well-recognized legal principles.”

The brief contains research about the negative impacts of criminalizing such behavior and the discriminatory ways it can be applied in the context of data showing the overrepresentation of minority students in school discipline. Read the brief.